LocalAI vs Ollama: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to OpenAI API. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| LocalAI | Ollama | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 26k | 99k |
| Tech stack | Go, C++ | Go, Llama.cpp |
| Replaces | OpenAI API | OpenAI API |
Ollama has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
LocalAI
OpenAI-compatible API running local models, no per-token cost.
Pros
- Near-direct migration from code already using the OpenAI API
Things to consider
- Needs decent hardware (ideally a GPU) for large models
Ollama
Run open source LLMs locally, an alternative to the OpenAI API.
Pros
- Your data never leaves your server
Things to consider
- Quality depends on the model and hardware available
Key features
LocalAI
- API compatible with the OpenAI SDK
- Chat, images, embeddings and audio
- Runs GGUF, GGML and more model formats
Ollama
- Download models with a single command
- API compatible with multiple clients
- GPU and CPU support